Pulte Homes plan for housing development near 665 and 104 raises traffic concerns
Traffic tends to get heavy at the intersection of state routes 665 and 104, Grove City officials and some area residents say.
Some of them are sharing their concerns about the intersection's ability to handle the weight of hundreds of new homes nearby.
City Council’s Nov. 7 meeting agenda included a rezoning and development plan for 144.2 acres north of Route 665 and west of Route 104, or London Groveport Road and Jackson Pike.
Dublin-based Pulte Homes of Ohio LLC has proposed a residential development at the site to be called Communities at Plum Run.
Jim Hilz of Pulte told council the latest plan for the development is 360 lots containing 266 single-family homes and 94 patio homes plus 48 acres of open and green space, a multiuse path and a playground.
Council heard several residents speak, and the city received a number of emails, all opposing the project.
A common theme among opponents at the meeting was that traffic already is heavy at the site and that such a development would make it worse.
Mayor Richard "Ike" Stage and all five council members agreed traffic is bad in the area, with most saying involvement of the Ohio Department of Transportation is the only realistic option for improvement.
Council member Roby Schottke said ODOT could have done more to improve traffic at the intersection, and he criticized ODOT's failure to lower the speed limit on routes 665 and 104.
Noting that not all area residents speaking to council live inside the city limits, he advised the Jackson Township residents to speak to their township trustees about getting ODOT involved in finding solutions.
Hilz said Pulte has committed $3 million to offsite road improvements, including an eastbound right-turn lane on Route 665, softening the curve on Route 665 and a contribution to help fund an ODOT traffic speed study on the state route.
"We want to be part of the traffic solution, and leveraging our $3 million is a way to move solutions forward," Hilz said. "Central Ohio is growing rapidly, which is a good problem. As you know, it's not always easy. But the housing shortage is certainly well documented. It's a problem all over central Ohio."
Pulte representatives planned to meet with ODOT and city officials this month to discuss those and additional road improvements, he said.
Tom Hart, also representing Pulte, said the developer has been in talks with ODOT for almost two years. Pulte's donation, he said, could be leveraged by ODOT to help obtain other available grant funds. Even if Pulte builds nothing at the site, traffic is still predicted to increase 24% at the intersection, he said.
"The only person who came to this card game with the money right now is the developers, and it's not enough to do what's needed here," council member Mark Sigrist said.
Council member Christine Houk said Pulte with its roadwork contribution is trying to help address road infrastructure challenges in that area, which would require a multijurisdictional conversation, including ODOT.
Council member Randy Holt said, "Traffic is a problem today, and there are no near-term solutions on state Route 665 right now."
He said Pulte's donation would help handle both current and future traffic, based on traffic studies already completed.
Council member Ted Berry said ODOT always is looking for partners to share roadwork costs, with contributions from private developers often used.
Part of the issue at Routes 665 and 104, he said, is heavy development to the south, outside the city and where the city has no influence.
Stage said although some get frustrated with ODOT, the department repeatedly has been of great help to the city.
ODOT was instrumental in reconstructing the Route 665 and Interstate 71 interchange, he said, and is working with the city on an overpass to connect Hoover Road on the east to North Meadows Drive, Haughn Road and areas to the west, significantly increasing ease of access.
Residents at the meeting also said the development would bring too many residents to the area, would contribute to school crowding and would be detrimental to wildlife.
Berry said he would have preferred a park at the site, and Houk said she was given pause by Pulte's proposed density.
Hilz said 41 homes have been eliminated from the current proposal, which originally had 399 lots, 307 single-family homes and 92 patio homes. The amount of green space is 5 acres more than originally proposed, he said.
Stage said the Pulte property once was proposed for annexation to Columbus, which could have led to apartments being built there, "and we would have had nothing to say about it."
The city emphasizes balance in development issues, he said.
Council voted to continue discussion of Pulte's applications to Dec. 5, about a year after council rejected Pulte Homes' revised zoning text for the earlier development proposal.
Video of the meeting is at grovecityohio.new.swagit.com/videos/189099.
@ThisWeekNews
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Grove City leaders, residents raise concern about housing near 665-104
